Tiger on British spending spree

A HALF-A-BILLION euro spending spree on two British property portfolio purchases has put a bullish Irish company into the business headlines.

Tiger Developments has just concluded two major investment acquisitions across the Irish Sea, picking up 32 properties for €485 million with a €34 million a year rent roll.

Headed up by Goodbody Stockbrokers and Cork developers O'Flynn Construction, Tiger's strong buys come days after the news that another Irish "big cat," Jaguar Capital, has successfully concluded the purchase of the €200 million Thames Court office block in London.

When the €1.13 billion Irish investors' purchase of the Savoy Hotel in London is taken into account, it means Irish commercial property investments in Britain this year to date have reached €3 billion.

It puts Irish acquisitions in the half year to date well ahead of the total €2.5 billion we spent on British property investments last year. Economist Marie Hunt of CB Richard Ells Gunne forecasts a €4bn total year's spend in Britain by the end of this year, if the major €1.1bn Savoy deal is included.

In contrast, the total Irish commercial investment in this country last year topped out at just about €900m, dwarfed by the scale of British investments, and by the end of this year it may show a drop from that figure, she estimates.

On top of this, Irish investment in Continental Europe was €250 million in 2003, and this will grow even more this year with several major deals in the offing in Paris, Brussels and Amsterdam.

Tiger Developments Ltd last night confirmed it had bought the two British investments, the 22-property strong Vision Portfolio, and the 10-property strong Whiskey Portfolio.

It follows a further round of acquisitions worth €100m earlier this year, said Tiger Developments managing director Michael O'Flynn.

The latest investments are the Chancerygate "Vision Portfolio,", where 22 properties are valued at €225m, and the Whiskey Portfolio, bought from Dunedin, of 10 properties worth more than over of €260m.

An expected recovery in office demand market, after two doldrum years, may show a rise in returns in a short period.

"We will continue to be proactive over the coming months in identifying development sites and investment properties," said Mr O'Flynn. "Our recent acquisitions offer us excellent asset management opportunities."

The so-called Whiskey Portfolio of 10 office properties has a current net rental value in excess of €18.9m.